No Smoking to be shot in Russia

MUMBAI: The unit of No Smoking, a joint venture between Vishal Bharadwaj and Kumar Mangat, will leave for Russia to shoot its last schedule soon.

The last film to be shot in Russia was Sohail Khan’s Lucky. No Smoking is planned for a 25 May, 2007 release, and stars John Abraham, Ayesha Takia, Ranvir Shorey and Joy Fernandes. It is directed by Anurag Kashyap and is an anti-smoking feature film with a message.

“We will be leaving for Russia very soon to shoot our last schedule of No Smoking, and a majority of the cast is expected to be present there. It will be a seven day schedule, and some very important scenes will be picturised by Anurag Kashyap,” says Mangat.

The producer is also planning to hold a ‘best poster’ competition for the general public, wherein the winner will be invited for the premiere of the film, and will have an opportunity to be photographed with actor John Abraham. The winning poster will also be displayed at most locations as part of the film’s publicity. The competetion will run for a month and the judges will include John Abraham, Vishal Bharadwaj, Anurag Kashyap and Mangat.

“This big-budget film is a thriller, about an arrogant, selfish man played by John Abraham, who’s a chain smoker, who agrees to give it the habit and go into rehab to save his marriage,” says Mangat.

The film’s music will be scored by Vishal Bharadwaj, lyrics written by Gulzar. Rajeev Ravi (who worked on Madhur Bhandarkar’s Chandni Bar) will be the cameraman.